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Almost as soon as we start learning the names of animals, we start learning the names of their young. It’s a natural tendency, reinforced by an entire genre of board-books for toddlers: “this is the cow, and this is her calf; this is the cat, and this is her kitten; this is the mommy, and this is the baby.”

But some animals have pet names for the little ones that you probably don’t know (and might not even be able to guess).

See how well you do when the babies aren’t coming from off the farm, but from the Tanzanian bush:

1. It makes sense that a baby pig is also known as a piglet; it’s less obvious that piglets can also be the young of which small African mammal?

a.) Elephant shrew

b.) Hedgehog

c.) Four-striped mouse

d.) Hyrax

2. Warthog young can also be known as piglets, but they might also be called:

a.) Stots

b.) Foals

c.) Shoats

d.) Sowlings

3. Hatchlings aren’t just for the birds; which two animals also give birth to hatchlings?

a.) Snakes and termites

b.) Turtles and spiders

c.) Crocodiles and termites

d.) Turtles and Crocodiles

4. Which of the following animals DOESN’T give birth to “cubs?”

a.) Aardvark

b.) Cheetah

c.) Bat

d.) Honey badger

5. Which animal’s babies are called “leverets?”

a.) Hares

b.) Servals

c.) Genets

d.) All of the above

6. Owls are far too wise to give their babies an ordinary name; what are newborn owls known as?

a.) Fledglings

b.) Owlets

c.) Chicks

d.) Both a and b

7. If you saw a snake, you might just scream; if you saw a baby snake, you’d yell out that you’ve spotted a:

a.) Snakelet

b.) Neonate

c.) Hatchling

d.) All of the above

8. If you spotted an eya, what (baby) would you be looking at?

a.) A hawk

b.) A genet

c.) An ostrich

d.) An aardvark

9. Which two animals give birth to kits?

a.) Bats and hyraxes

b.) Genets and bat-eared foxes

c.) Rhinos and elephant shrews

d.) Hyenas and civets

10.) There’s one group of animals that have both kittens and pups: mice (and rats). What other name do their babies sometimes go by?

We’ve all heard of herds of cattle, or packs of dogs, but some species get-togethers go by strange names. These little-known terms date back to the 15th century, when English gentlemen would study them in their “books of venery.” Knowing to call it a “gaggle” (not a “group”) of geese was one of the many (strange) markers of gentility at the time.

The terms may seem outdated, but several have so thoroughly embedded themselves in our language that we don’t even realize how strange they are; a “school” of fish isn’t really any more obvious than a “murder” of crows, if you think about it!

Would you prove yourself a gentleman? Take our African Animal Quiz and find out just how much you know about the language of animals:

1.) Which animal hangs out in a “bask” or a “float” (we’ll give you an almost-hint: it’s aquatic)?

a.) Sea turtles

b.) Crocodiles

c.) Hippopotamuses

d.) Tigerfish

2.) Flamingoes are known for their bright pink finery; what are groups of them known as?

a.) A “bling”

b.) A “flutter”

c.) A “flamboyance”

d.) A “sparkle”

3.) Buffalo seem to derive their group name from one of their most recognizable traits, namely:

a.) Obstinacy

b.) Heaviness

c.) Sluggishness

d.) Buoyancy

4.) Hyenas also have an evocative group name. These predators travel in:

a.) Giggles

b.) Guffaws

c.) Chortles

d.) Cackles

5.) Many animals have more than one possible group name, and some group names can apply to more than one species. If you mention a “clan,” you could be referring to either:

a.) Honey badgers or hyenas

b.) Wild dogs or cheetahs

c.) Servals or Thomson’s gazelles

d.) Baboons or elephants

6.) Many people know that lions hang out in “prides,” but their groups are also known as:

a.) Saults

b.) Troops

c.) Both of the above

d.) None of the above

7.) One animal on this list is just screaming for your attention. If you see a “sounder” in the Serengeti, you’re looking at a group of:

a.) Aardvarks

b.) Warthogs

c.) Pangolins

d.) Leopards

8.) Many animals have military-inspired group names, including:

a.) Giraffes

b.) Frogs (all species)

c.) Elephants

d.) All of the above

Check below to see if you’re an animal expert…or if you need to go back to school (the one WITHOUT the fishes!)

Tanzania is home to thousands of different species of mammals, birds, and insects, many of them unlike anything you’ve ever seen (or maybe even imagined!) before. The aardwolf is one of the stranger creatures you might see on safari (especially if you’re lucky enough to head out on a night drive). Most people won’t have heard of the aardwolf, so take our fun quiz to learn more about this elusive, little-known creature:

1. I’m most closely related to:

a.) Wolves
b.) Hyenas
c.) Foxes

2. My favorite food is:

a.) Termites
b.) Snakes
c.) Antelope

3. I travel:

a.) In large packs
b.) In small, hierarchical groups
c.) Solo

4. I’m about as tall as:

a.) Your knee
b.) Your thigh
c.) Your hip

5. During the day I:

a.) Hunt
b.) Sleep in dens dug by other animals
c.) Sleep in the branches of trees

2: (a.) Aardwolf are almost exclusively insectivores. They use their long, sticky tongues to pull up to 200,000 termites out of a mound in just one night!

3: (c.) Well, not entirely; mated aardwolf will stick close to one another. But because a single aardwolf needs as much as four square kilometers for optimal survival, they won’t stay too close.

4: (a.) Think of them as “pocket hyena.”

5: (b.) Aardwolf are mostly nocturnal, and during the heat of the day, they like to take refuge in subterranean burrows…they just don’t like having to dig them, first.

6: (c.) Aardwolf aren’t particularly fast, and as insectivores, they actually lose their (already blunt) teeth as they age, so they don’t much like a fight, either. When threatened, they do the only thing they can: raise the bristly mane on their necks in an attempt to look bigger.

7: (c.) Mature aardwolf don’t have many wild predators, but they are threatened by men. Agricultural development both strips them of habitat and, when pesticides are used, can poison them. They’re sometimes hunted for their pelts, or by ranchers who mistake them as a threat, and as nocturnal foragers, they’re regularly struck by vehicles, which they generally fail to move away from.

Thomson Safaris

Founded in 1981 and based in Watertown Massachusetts, Thomson Safaris has been handcrafting trips-of-a-lifetime for over 35 years. Tanzania is our only destination, and has truly become our second home. We’re excited to be able to share it with you through stories and features on our blog.